Sweet Mistletoe
by Adventurer411
Summary: Getting delirious on spiked eggnog, dancing like no one is watching, and getting kissed under the mistletoe. What more could the Lyoko gang want? JxA YxU


I know, I have other things to update. But this was supposed to be a Christmas present for my buddy Matson, but I had other things to work on at the time, and I had no idea it would be this long. This is the first half, I'll post the second half as soon as I finish.

Really sorry for making it so late, Matson.

And yes, I know Christmas has long passed, but bear with me, people.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to—"

"No."

"But I'll—"

"I said, no! Now leave me alone, Odd," Heidi said as she walked away in a huff. Odd reached out a hand, as if to pull her back, but she had already rounded the corner.

"So, what was that one again? Number nine?" Ulrich wondered to Jeremy from the vending machine. They had a nice view from there as Odd got rejected time and time again.

"Eleven," Jeremy replied as he took a sip of his coffee. "Think he'll ever get a date for the Christmas party?"

"If you judge by last year, then no."

Odd walked over to them with a sigh, shoving his hands in his pocket. Though he looked slightly dejected, there was a gleam in his eyes.

"So, catch any girls this time, oh brave hunter?" Ulrich asked with a smile. At the tone of Ulrich's voice, Jeremy hid his smile by drinking more of his coffee.

Odd shrugged. "No... no one wanted to- I mean, this year, I thought I'd just go alone," he said quickly, a grin spreading over his face. "I'll be a free man! I won't have to worry about being tied down by girls. It'll be much better this way."

Jeremy choked on his coffee, trying not to laugh. Ulrich, however, didn't hold back a laugh.

"Of course, of course," he said. "That's the reason why you don't have a date for the party."

"It is!"

"_Right,_" Ulrich responded sarcastically.

Jeremy shook his head as Ulrich and Odd went back and forth. He drank the rest of his coffee in two sips and threw the cup in the trash, walking away from the arguing duo. Still, he did wonder whether he would go to the Christmas party this year. But, if he did, who to go with? The answer was obvious, and it across the courtyard by the cafeteria.

Jeremy smiled as he watched his pink-haired beauty talk to Yumi about... well, whatever they might be talking about. He couldn't help but think that the party would be much more fun with her there. He could already imagine her in an elf costume, laughing brightly with her eyes twinkling.

Jeremy shook his head to rid himself of the wild fantasies. It _would_ be fun, but the question was, would he be able to ask? If he asked her to go to the Christmas party with him, would it be interpreted by Aelita as a date or just a fun time as friends? Would he like it more if the first or second option came true? If the first option was true, then what would Aelita think? Would she be disgusted or happy about it? Could it turn their friendship into awkward greetings that were followed by blushes? If the second option was true, then would she ever see him as more than a friend, if she had not already? What would _that _do to their friendship...?

_Ugh... I'm over-thinking this,_ Jeremy thought to himself, shaking his head. As he looked back at Aelita, she caught his gaze and smiled brightly, giving Jeremy butterflies. It was all he could do to smile back and try to ignore the frantic thudding of his heart. It didn't stop when Aelita returned to her conversation with Yumi.

"Admiring Princess?"

Jeremy jumped, head whipping around to see Ulrich leaning on the pillar behind him. He was smiling... and just the kind of smile that Jeremy hated to see when Aelita was involved. It was the kind of smile that made him blush, just as it was doing now.

"Busted," Ulrich said, smiling slyly. "Why don't you ask her?"

Jeremy tried to play dumb. "Ask her what?"

Ulrich raised an eyebrow, obviously not buying the poor charade. Well, acting had never really been one of Jeremy's strong suits.

"Really, Jeremy. You have to ask her some time. You can't just keep going around this like it's not there."

Jeremy knew it was true, but was embarrassed to admit it. He rubbed his fingers together and stared at them for a moment before sighing. After over two years of pretending that he wasn't, Jeremy knew he'd have to face facts sooner or later. He knew that love couldn't go away.

"I... I know, but... what do I do?" Cheeks flushed, Jeremy averted his gaze. "I'm... I don't..."

"You're afraid of what will happen to your friendship," Ulrich finished, looking him square in the eyes. After Jeremy looked away and said nothing, Ulrich added, "That's right, isn't it?"

Jeremy slowly let his shoulders rise and fall in a small shrug. "Yes... I treasure my friendship with Aelita more than anything," he said quietly, looking back at Ulrich. "And if I ask her to the party or tell her how I feel, something could happen to that friendship." He sighed dejectedly, keeping eye contact. "The risk... it's... too great. I don't think the friendship is worth risking, Ulrich, for the small chance that she might... love me back."

Face once again flushed brightly, Jeremy stared at the pillar.

Ulrich watched him. He'd have to choose his words carefully. "I... know how you feel," he said slowly. "Yumi and I went through the same thing. But you're trying to rush it. You're thinking that one moment will decide your fate together."

"Because it will. If I-"

"No, no 'if's," Ulrich interrupted, giving Jeremy a hard stare. He folded his arms. "If you try and rush it in one moment, things _will_ go wrong."

Jeremy began to say something, but Ulrich cut him off. He was tired of this.

"Let it slide into place. The friendship forms the basis for the relationship. And if you just concentrate on developing your friendship, the rest will slide into place. Don't rush it or the base will get messed up, and then it will be tough to fit in the relationship." Ulrich stopped for a moment and simply stared to emphasize his point, then continued.

"What I'm trying to say is relax, Jeremy. Act the way you normally do, and Aelita will do the same. You guys will get there soon enough, okay?"

Jeremy looked at Ulrich, then nodded slowly. He looked more reassured.

"Good." Ulrich walked closer and looped and arm around Jeremy's shoulders, grinning. "Now why don't you go and ask Princess on that date?"

Ulrich's suddenly casual demeanor made Jeremy smile. "I will," he said. "Thanks."

"No problem, Einstein. That reminds me... I've got to find Yumi," he said with a wink, a slight blush appearing on his face before he dashed off.

Jeremy watched him go with a smile, then turned to where Aelita had been. She was now looking at her phone; Yumi had apparently left. He watched her for a moment, nervousness rooting him in place. Despite what Ulrich had said, it was still difficult not to worry about the outcome of the question.

_I can't get cold feet now... _Jeremy told himself, shaking his head, then walked over to Aelita. She looked up as he approached.

"Hey, Jeremy," she said, smiling. The smile turned Jeremy's mouth dry, made his stomach do a back flip, and sped up his heart rate all in a split second.

"Hi, Aelita," he responded, if only to be polite. "Listen... you know the Christmas party that Kadic hosts every year?"

It was coming...

Aelita nodded. "Yes. I remember that we didn't get to go last year because of Xana, but now that he's gone..." She trailed off, face brightening.

"Um, yeah, r-right," Jeremy said, mentally wincing at the stammer. Heat rose to his cheeks. This was it. "It _would _be fun to go. I was just wondering if you'd... if you wanted to, uh... if..."

It was one simple question. Couldn't he even manage that?

"I was, ah, um... wondering if you were going." The rest spilled out in a nervous rush as he stumbled over his words.

_Coward. How do you expect to get anywhere if you can't manage to ask your love to one small party?  
_

Aelita seemed a little confused, but nodded. "I'm pretty sure I'll go... but I'd rather not go alone." Suddenly timid, she stared at her shoes.

Jeremy perked up. Was she serious? Better find out.

"Well, I, uh, wouldn't like to... either," he said, wishing more than ever he could control his speech.

_I sound like an idiot, but I suppose it can't be helped. _

"Maybe we could... ah, you know..." Jeremy said, still unable to force the sentence out. "I was... thinking, that, maybe we... we could go together."

Finally.

Aelita perked up with a smile. "Are you asking me to the Christmas party?"

Jeremy felt himself blush, then nodded. "I mean, if you, uh, actually want to-" He stopped as Aelita placed a kiss on his lips.

_Whoa._

Jeremy's brain imploded. He blinked dazedly. Did she just... kiss him? Well, of course she did, anyone could see that. But what did _that _mean? She wanted to be more than friends? He tried not to think about it; that's what had gotten him worked up last time. Wait, was Aelita saying something? Jeremy started to listen, but Aelita had already stopped, looking at him... for an answer, apparently.

"Right, Jeremy?" she repeated, after he was silent for a few more moments.

"Er, uh... um, yeah, right," Jeremy stammered, flushing. _Good job; she'll love that you're not actually listening to her._

Aelita giggled, apparently noticing, and repeated it. "I _said _that I'll see you tomorrow then, right?"

This time he nodded, glad she hadn't gotten mad.

Aelita smiled one more time before walking off. Jeremy watched her go in the same dazed state.

_Well... that went... better than I had hoped. _He smiled to himself and headed to the dorms to decide what to wear for the next day.

* * *

"I told you he'd ask!" Yumi exclaimed as she dug in her drawers. She wrinkled her nose at a top and shoved it aside, then kept searching.

"Yes, I know," Aelita said, her cheeks turning the same color as her hair. She smiled at the thought of Jeremy, looking down at the sheets. Then she looked back up at Yumi. "What are we doing here, anyway?"

Yumi stood and went to her closet, sifting through the clothes. "So we can find you something to wear for the party. My mom bought me a lot of-" She furrowed her brow at a checkered brown skirt and shoved it to the side. "-odd clothes, before I was into black."

"Really? Like what?" Aelita asked, peering at the closet from the bed.

"Uh... They would be better left at the back of my closet," Yumi said, a light pink filling her cheeks. She shifted some things to the back of her closet.

Aelita giggled as Yumi kept sorting through her closet. She squinted, then brightened and pulled out a red tube top dress. In the top right hand corner of the dress was a little green tree.

"It's perfect!" she said, showing the dress to Aelita. "And I got it a while ago, so it should be your size."

Aelita's eyes widened in surprise as she looked over the dress. "Wow... It's really pretty. And it has some Christmas in it, too." She gently brushed a finger over the tree. Then she looked at Yumi. "You wore this dress?" A slight smile came over her face.

"Uh... don't tell anyone," Yumi said, blushing as she held the dress out to Aelita. "You can have the dress, in fact. I'm not going to wear it anytime soon. Besides, I don't think that it'll fit me."

Aelita carefully took the dress and inspected all the sides. "Wow, thanks, Yumi..."

"Don't mention it," Yumi said with a wink, grinning. "Jeremy won't know what to say when he sees you in that."

Aelita blushed the color of the dress as she folded it into a small rectangle. "Ah... speaking of, what about you? Have you chosen something to wear?"

Yumi shrugged. "No, not really. I'll probably just wear something like this," she said, gesturing to her usual black clothes.

"But you can't wear black to a Christmas party," Aelita insisted as she craned her neck to see around Yumi. Something red in the closet had caught her eye. She jumped up and walked to the closet, pulling the items on the hanger

"This!" she exclaimed, a grin spreading over her face as she shoved the clothes toward Yumi. "Wear this!"

Yumi took one look at the outfit and her eyes widened. She vigorously shook her head. "No. I can't wear that, Aelita, and you know it."

"Come on, at least try it on... please?"

Yumi looked at Aelita for a moment, then sighed and took the outfit. She went into the bathroom to change, and a few minutes later, came out in a dark green skirt and a diagonally red and green striped tube top. It was a flattering and bright outfit that clashed with the bright red color on her cheeks and the embarrassed expression on her face

"That looks great!" Aelita said after a few moments of Yumi squirming uncomfortably, beaming.

Yumi looked down at the outfit, shaking her head. Despite the embarrassment, her expression was defiant. "No, Aelita; I can't wear this," she repeated, tugging at the top.

"But you've only been wearing it for half a minute!"

Yumi ignored her and moved toward the bathroom to change. She stopped and sighed as the doorbell rang.

"Come on; let's go see," Aelita said, walking toward the door curiously.

Yumi sighed, following with a shrug and a mutter. "I guess it doesn't matter if one person sees me in this stupid outfit."

They descended the stairs and scurried to the door, Yumi allowing Aelita to open it. Ulrich was standing on the porch outside, wearing his usual outfit with a large, dark green jacket. Despite this, he was shivering. An expression of surprise spread across his face as he saw Yumi's attire.

She blushed and averted her eyes, resisting the impulse to fold her arms over the stupid shirt.

_Really, fate is just playing with me today.__ First Aelita finds all of my old clothes, then there's Ulrich seeing me in this stupid outfit... seriously, did it have to be _him?_ I wish it would have been anyone else but him!_

"Um, is this a, uh... bad time?" Ulrich wondered, eyes still wandering over her outfit.

Aelita smiled gleefully, shaking her head. "No. Yumi was just trying on some... clothes." She let out a giggle, seeming giddy. Yumi made a mental note to ask Aelita about her sanity later.

"Ah, well, I... um..." Yumi stammered, trying to come up with a good explanation, but drew a blank. "It's just... something that looks really stupid..."

Ulrich quickly shook his head. "I think you look beautiful in it. Then again, you can look beautiful in anything," he said smoothly, giving a wide smile. Then his eyes darted to Aelita, who was wearing an amused expression, then back to Yumi. A dark blush overcame his face; to Aelita it seemed that he had obviously not wanted her to hear that.

Well, what did he expect? She was standing right there, after all. Yumi wasn't any better; her face looked like the red on the shirt.

"Well, anyway," she said, giving a small, fake cough into her fist as an excuse to not make eye contact, "are you here for... something?"

Ulrich shuffled his feet, not making eye contact either. Alone, Yumi and Ulrich were much more comfortable together. However, with Aelita watching them like a hawk, every romantic thing between them, whether big or small, sent a hot flush to both of their faces.

"Actually, since I... um, didn't get to, ah, talk to you earlier, I wanted to, uh, ask you... a question." The whole time Ulrich talked, he looked at Aelita. The mischievous grin she was giving him made it hard to speak.

"Um, right." Yumi was just as nervous. "Right. Well, what did you want to ask?"

Ulrich glanced at Yumi, then back at Aelita. "Well, it's... um, kind of... private." He blushed and eyed Aelita meaningfully. She tried to feign innocence for a moment, but then gave up as Yumi gave her "the look" too. (It was the Ulrich/Yumi-is-probably-about-to-do-something-romantic-and-I'd-rather-you-not-see-us-blush-like-fools-when-he/she-does look... Though Aelita couldn't deny the many times she'd given the others that same look when she was around Jeremy)

"You know what," Aelita said, giving a wide smile, "I have... things. Right, of course, things, to... things I need to do." What she had to do at Yumi's, Aelita knew not. Despite this, she ascended the stairs, but stopped before reaching the top. "And you guys have fun, okay?" A wink and a grin was attached to the end of the sentence.

It was simple question, but Ulrich and Yumi knew very well the actual meaning and teasing that lie hidden underneath it. Ulrich chose to stare at the floor while Yumi shot her an embarrassed glare. Aelita couldn't help but giggle as she walked the last stairs and went back to Yumi's room.

After a moment of hesitation, Yumi called, "Hey, now don't go poking around in my closet, you hear?"

"But your closet is so interesting!" came the faint reply.

Yumi sighed and shook her head, then turned her attention back to Ulrich. He wore a faint smile of what was probably amusement, but Yumi could see his body quivering. She bit her lip guiltily and stepped away from the door frame. "Why don't you come in? You look cold."

Ulrich nodded gratefully as he walked inside, vigorously rubbing and blowing on his hands in an attempt to warm them. "Frozen solid. My fingers are going to fall off soon."

Yumi smiled as she shut the door behind him. "Well, we wouldn't want that, now would we?" she asked.

By some unspoken consent, the pair both went to the living room and settled comfortably on the couch. For about a minute, Yumi stared at the intricate Japanese paintings on the wall that her father loved to collect, and Ulrich kept rubbing his hands, feeling little warmth seep into them. Yumi finally broke the silence with a sigh and a small smile. "Here, let me."

Ulrich didn't protest as she took her hands in his, fingers jerking as they almost let go.

_His hands are like ice! _

He chuckled as he felt the movement. "Pretty cold, huh?"

"They're freezing!" Yumi exclaimed, feeling his icy yet soft hands in hers.

"I know. Don't freak out if they fall off, but you should tell me, because I can't really feel them anymore."

This drew a laugh from Yumi. It felt good to be laughing, not worrying about what he might think if she said the wrong thing, or not wondering what he was thinking of the seemingly ridiculous attire. She happen to glance down at their hands and suddenly stared at them, as if seeing them for the first time. Then she looked back up at Ulrich, a slight pink dusting her cheeks. Ulrich turned a lovely shade of pink that would've matched Aelita's hair.

After a few seconds of avoiding eye contact but still keeping their hands together, Yumi cleared her throat. "Well, uh... What was it you wanted to ask?"

Ulrich blinked at her for a moment, then recognition dawned on his face, as if to say, _Oh, right, that._

"It's about the Christmas party."

Jeez, this was so much easier when Aelita wasn't staring at them... wait, was she? Ulrich resisted the urge to cast a furtive glance over his shoulder and instead concentrated on Yumi. She looked at him expectantly, though Ulrich was sure that she knew what he was about to ask.

"Well, if you're going, I was wondering if... you would go with me?" he asked, looking at her outfit again.

Yumi suddenly felt reckless. Ulrich was asking her on a date; she was warming his hands with hers; and he saw her in... that outfit. And he didn't even mind! She wasn't nervous at that moment, or scared. A sly smile spread Yumi's face, and she couldn't keep from asking, "You're asking me out on a date, Stern?"

Ulrich blinked. Stern? When did she address him by his surname? And when did she get so bold?

"Well, uh, I... just, ah..." His voice stopped working after that.

"But," said Yumi quietly, her smile lost, "that's not what friends do, is it?"

Again, no answer. Ulrich tried to think of something, anything he could say, but drew a blank.

"So, that means," she said slowly, as if explaining something difficult to a small child, "that we're not... _just_ friends. We're more, right?"

Whoa, what did she just say? Ulrich's eyes widened slightly. After all that protesting of "just friends", she was suddenly dropping that they weren't. They were more... did that mean that they were boyfriend and girlfriend?

At that moment, Yumi lost the boldness. The seriousness of what she'd said just weighed in.

A dark blush covered her cheeks. At the sight of this, Ulrich couldn't stop his cheeks from turning red. "Uh, um, I... ah, I, uh..."

Yumi leaned forward slowly, their noses less than an inch from touching. "Yes?" she asked quietly.

Ulrich was sure she could feel the heat radiating from his cheeks. With her lips an inch away, it was impossible to form coherent sentences. "Uh, er, um, I..."

Yumi leaned closer. "Oh, look, mistletoe," she mumbled casually while closing the distance.

Ulrich was about to look when she captured his lips with hers. He felt an impulse to jerk back, but forced himself to relax. His heart hammered in his chest but the kiss... oh, god, this kiss. It felt so wonderful. It was not just the physical contact that felt that way, but the intimacy between them shared through that single kiss. If he could experience more of this if he was her boyfriend, then Ulrich definitely wanted that. If only they could get their blushes under control, then everything would be perfect...

He opened his eyes, not remembering closing them as Yumi pulled away, the dark blush still on her face. Her eyes quickly found the couch. Trying not to let them lapse into uncomfortable silence, Ulrich said, "You know... you still haven't answered..."

She looked up shyly at the sound of his voice.

"You never told me whether you would go to the party with me or not."

A smile spread over Yumi's face as she said, "What do you think the answer is?"

Ulrich opened his mouth to answer, but stopped as the clock on the wall chimed. He glanced at it, eyes widening, then jumped up. "Oh, it's already that late? I'm sorry Yumi, but I'll have to leave or my parents will kill me."

Of course, his parents didn't actually care much about him (except for his mom, maybe), just about his grades and whether he made it home on time.

"Oh, okay," Yumi said, trying not to let her disappointment show as she stood and walked to the door with him. She wished he didn't have to go so soon... they had finally gotten a chance to be alone, without Milly and Tamiya snapping pictures or Odd teasing. At least they had gotten a kiss. And oh, what a kiss it was.

As Ulrich stood outside, he peered into the living room, brow furrowed. There was no mistletoe.

Yumi noticed him looking and smiled. _Really, did he expect me to kiss him _only _if they had mistletoe?_

"Well, I'll see you at the party," she said, a small blush rising to her cheeks at the thought.

"Uh, yeah, right," Ulrich said, his cheeks flushing pink as he kept searching the living room for the supposed mistletoe. Yumi allowed him to search for a few moments, cheeks becoming darker, then started to close the door.

Before she closed it fully, she allowed a grin to surface, then said softly, "Who needs mistletoe?" The last view of Ulrich Yumi got was of his surprised, flushed face before she closed the door completely.

On the other side, Ulrich stared at the door dazedly for a moment before smiling and thinking, _definitely not me._

* * *

Okay, I know that was a bit rushed, but I just need to get this finished.

Well, looks like Yumi and Ulrich are getting bold. (At least Yumi is) Who needs that sweet mistletoe?


End file.
